What You Need to Know Today: September 1

Twitter’s biggest problem is YOU. “Twitter’s problem is that, as a “solution,” it already works… The longer Twitter has existed, the more this essential fact has become clear. It will grow, but not spectacularly; make profits, but not spectacular ones. And it works because – for all the trolls, threats and libels – there are self-correction mechanisms… But to tech investors this is a bad thing. It means share prices calibrated for exponential growth cannot be justified. Any company that cannot demonstrate a clear route to monopolising its space, monetising its users’ data on a vast scale, is to be discarded, targeted for acquisition, consigned to perpetual dowdiness. Nothing better illustrates our addiction to illogic than the mismatch between Twitter’s workability and its unpopularity with investors.” The Guardian explores the twisted relationship we all have with technology that works “just fine.”

How to automate good customer service. Customer’s love it when you can solve their problem, even if YOU created it. This might sound odd, but it’s the truth. Why do you think businesses that sell lackluster products have so many loyal customers? No doubt there’s better products these customers can buy. The answer: trust. At one time or another, a customer ran into a problem (overcharged credit card, product not delivered etc), and how the company resolved the issue made all the difference. One of the most frustrating problems technology users face everyday are unhelpful ‘error’ messages. Imagine how great the experience would be if the automated error message you received in your browser was actually helpful? Thomas Fuchs can relate and wrote an entire article on how to write great error messages. This might sound like a low priority task, but imagine all the automatic goodwill you will create with customers by investing a couple hours writing helpful error messages.

Sucker for a good how-to article. “The first time I held my book was 26 days after its release. By this time I had sold 1,312 copies, invested $16,797.90 and was 7,532km from home. The copy was shipped to my brother in Vancouver who brought it to me in Salvador, Brazil the day before we embarked upon a 5-day trek in the Chapada Diamantine National Park.” I’ll admit, I’m a sucker for a good how-to article. Jon Goodman, author of Viralnomics and The PTDC, just published a long but very helpful article on how he self-published a niche book off-the-grid. He includes the tools he used, services, and total cost.

50% of something big, is better than 100% of nothing. There’s a famous study where two people are given $100 to split. One person gets to decide how much the other person gets. But the catch is if the other person, the one not making the decision, thinks the deal is unfair, they can say no and nobody gets any money. At about 70/30 is where most people decide that neither person will receive any money. It seems obvious how dumb saying no would be. After all, $30 is better than $0. But as the study proves, human nature prevails. Remember this when you decide who you do business with. Here are 10 more lessons you need to know before going into business with people.

The most dangerous man in football. At 24 years old Chris Borland decided to retire from a promising career in the NFL. Borland had to return most of his $617,436 signing bonus and forego at least $2.35 million. His reason for retiring has nothing to do with an injury or legal issues. But his story has made him the most dangerous man in football.

LIFESTYLE

What is the biggest surprise about getting rich? Minecraft creator Markus Persson, aka ‘Notch’, has said that he has “never felt more isolated” after earning billions in the sale of Mojang, the company he founded, to Microsoft (Wired). It’s no surprise money can’t buy you happiness, but it’s always fascinating to hear stories of #richpeopleproblems. One of the best answers I’ve ever read is this.

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